Discover Jean de la Fontaine and his fables and this one is very much linked to Fashion and how some Designers are tricked to let their assets go and receive nothing in exchange. 

The Crow and the Fox

At the top of a tree perched Master Crow;
In his beak he was holding a cheese.
Drawn by the smell, Master Fox spoke, below.
The words, more or less, were these:
"Hey, now, Sir Crow! Good day, good day!
How very handsome you do look, how grandly distingué!
No lie, if those songs you sing
Match the plumage of your wing,
You’re the phoenix of these woods, our choice."
Hearing this, the Crow was all rapture and wonder.
To show off his handsome voice,
He opened beak wide and let go of his plunder.
The Fox snapped it up and then said, "My Good Sir,
Learn that each flatterer
Lives at the cost of those who heed.
This lesson is well worth the cheese, indeed."
The Crow, ashamed and sick,
Swore, a bit late, not to fall again for that trick.

For our French speakers, please find the original version at the end.

No...

A few days have passed since the first part of this Fashion and Cooking blog post.
You have therefore dedicated time and efforts to come up with some recipes.
As we mentioned in Part I, you need to have
* An image of the final product
* The recipe - step by step process to prepare the dish and bring consistency to your dish
* The ingredients - Those may vary depending on who will eat and if you wish to appeal to the palate of the person tasting the dish!

The Image: The Vision - The Products - The Measurable Goals

What is your project all about.
What sales goals do you have
What products will you be selling and to whom
What sales channel will you use? Which country will you be selling into
...

The Recipe: The processes to get the results you are expecting

If you are developing a wholesale and trade show sales approach, what process will you use to build the sales, leads, contacts...
what process will you use to train your staff, work with agents & other partners
what process will you use to id...

It all started as we were working with a Client who loved cooking and Fashion of course.

Part of the work we were doing together, we asked a few questions and we shared a few top tips and among those, we said:

* Close your eyes and tell us what you see in the future. If a Journalist was to interview you in 10 years and asking you to describe your journey and what you have managed to build over the period, what would you say? 
The Designer started creating a picture of the final product and a picture of what she wanted.

* As you are building a wholesale strategy and looking to attend trade shows, what would be the step by step process you would apply to make the trade show investment a success. Also share with us the time line.

The Designer started drafting the blueprint to effectively pick up orders at the show.

* As you set up the trade show action plan, you will need tools such as price list, emailing, calling, imagery, social media... please list them all.

The Designer started pu...

Read,
Reflect &
Rethink the way you think and work &
You are on your way to make your Dream a Reality

1. "Today, success is not about what you know, it is about what you do not know"
Thierry Bayle - Founder Global Fashion Management / London Fashion Business Academy

2 "Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts."
Winston S. Churchill

3. "Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it."
Henry David Thoreau

4. "Opportunities don't happen. You create them."
Chris Grosser

5. "I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have." 
Thomas Jefferson

6. "Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do. Don't wish it were easier; wish you were better." 
Jim Rohn

9. "Try not to become a man of success. Rather become a man...

As you start up or as you grow your Fashion Business, you want to discover what other companies have done.

You want to understand the golden rules and you want to understand the mistakes.

Do you agree? This can save you and time and lots of money.

Why not spend some time listening or watching The Profit on CNBC. In every episode, Marcus Lemonis is investing his own money in companies and he helps them scale up effectively. 

What is unusual is the level of honesty and transparency in this programme. Marcus himself is happy to share the mistakes he made and the true reasons why he cannot work with a specific business owner. LEARN FROM IT.

Today, let's review what was shared in the episode of Ben's Garden, a retail store in New York City.
The business does around $1.6 Million per year.

Ben Busko: "I want to scale and grow and this is what I have been really stuck on"
Marcus: "And so, has your business gone down?"
Ben: "Yes, Sir"

At every little stage of your Brand's growth, you have t...

TOP 10 GOLDEN RULES TO
BOOST YOUR FASHION BRAND AT EXPORT

So, you’ve finally decided to push your collection at export. Are you excited? You should be!
The world is your oyster. More people are waiting for your product in global markets than at home.
Why speak to the one at home when you can speak to the many internationally?
As you start growing globally, you will also see increased interest from your domestic Buyers and some will buy your collection.
You and I know that you have the potential to grow a global and profitable Brand however, in order to succeed, you MUST learn from the mistakes made by the competition. This is what you need to do:

1. Set up a clear vision for your brand with strong values and measurable goals. Measurable goals are a must when it comes to building the next 6 to 12 months, e.g.: “I want 5 Buyers, 20 leads; I want to post 2 videos every week on Facebook…”. Align your next 6/12 months goals on your 3-year vision

2. Build a Team around you even if those peo...

You have a dream.
Do you want to bring it to reality? Effectively? Now rather than later? Profitably?

You must have interviewed 5 or 10 Designers and you must now know the key mistakes they have made and those you must avoid.

They must have told you that the Product is only 15 to 30% of success.

Where is the rest hiding?
Simple! In your pricing and margin, in your marketing, in your ability to recruit interns, staff and partners, in your ability in having the product delivered on time and with quality every time, in your ability to contact buyers before heading to a trade show...

You must build strong foundations the same way you build a house.

Did you give the Architect a full brief about what you want to achieve and build?
Do you have a contractor who is joined by different skills people from plumber to electrician or from sales to marketing and from trade show expert to branding...

The Fashion Mapping online course will help you very practically understand how to build a 200-buye...

Many people see the Business Plan as THE tool to attract and convince investors into the business and they are right

However the Business Plan has another function:
it is to give you the focus and direction to what to do, when to do it and have indicators to tell that something went wrong ie it is time to make some changes.

Before you start the business, write one even if it only about some bullet points.

Inside the LFBA, you will find the different chapters inside the business plan and how to fill it in. We also include several templates such as the cash flow projection.

Good luck and call or email us. Let's get your project or dream become a reality.

In a challenging environment, like you, we have seen our revenues go down.
Like you, we are reinventing ourselves with new products and services and preparing for the new normal which will take place when this challenge finishes.

You need to be ready and have build the foundations way before we get into a challenging environment.
Are you ready for a change and are you ready to amend your mindset?

Often, when profits are high, we cash in for ourselves or leave the cash in the business but we do not invest n improving processes and the training of staff.
This is a mistake. Do you agree? 

Changing the way your staff thinks and works will be difficult so you need time to get it organised.

The monthly webinar put in place by Global Fashion Management (GFM) for clients and prospects are also enjoyed by LFBA subscribers.
We will support you with 
Energy, 
Positivism &
Business of fashion top tips across wholesale, retail, online and management. 
George Clooney would most probably: "What else?".

Congratulations, you have a Dream and maybe even a big Dream.

This is good.

Now, to go from where you are today to where you want to be tomorrow, you need to move from the old location to the new location.
This will mean that change has to happen.

Do you have a belief that prevents you from growing or moving towards your Dream?

Do you know which belief will help you and support you in moving towards your Dream?

Old beliefs have cost thousands of dollars to many Young Designers and start-ups we know.
It does not have to happen to YOU!

Just 1 old wrong belief will make you lose a season and sometimes 3 years as well as losing money and relationships with buyers and investors.
We have seen it happening every single month for over 25 years.

Now, imagine you have adopted a new way of thinking and working.
Imagine you have now embedded a new belief. 
What would you like the results to look like? What is the outcome that you see for you, your happiness, your business?

We are committed in ...